


When It Hits

by Softlight



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mention of Death, Yang needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25018906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Softlight/pseuds/Softlight
Summary: Yang and Blake go to visit Menagerie.  Yang finds herself unexpectedly mourning what she lost all those years ago; a mother.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 14
Kudos: 188





	When It Hits

**Author's Note:**

> This was very cathartic for me to write, having lost a parent myself. It's difficult, and I hope that it brings some comfort. Written for a prompt on tumblr. <3

“Oh, honey!” Kali Belladonna said, taking Blake into her arms. Yang shifted her weight, her hands tightening around the bright yellow flowers she had brought. “I’ve missed you so much!” Kali’s eyes darted to her over Blake’s shoulder and smiled, her eyes softening. “It’s good to see you again, Yang.”

The mother and daughter broke apart as Yang smiled back and ignored the heat in her throat. “It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Belladonna,” she said. “I brought you these.” She held out the flowers and thrust them into Kali’s hands. 

Kali rolled her eyes and accepted the blooms. “Yang, you can call me Kali, I think we’re at that point,” she said as she ushered them inside. The size of the Belladonna house never failed to intimidate and amaze Yang, and her eyes traced over the beautiful interior. 

“Where’s Dad?” Blake asked, looking around.

“He had to go out to Opala,” Kali explained. “He should be back next week.”

“Girls’ weekend, then,” Blake said, rolling her eyes. Blake reached for Yang’s hand and smiled, squeezing. “Come on, let’s go unpack.”

“I’m making lunch!” Kali said as Blake led her away. 

“Thanks, Mom!” Blake called, leading Yang through the maze of rooms back to her room. Yang smiled as she was pulled along through the mansion, trying to get her bearings back from the last time she had visited. She could get to Blake’s room, the bathroom, and the kitchen, and that was about it. 

Blake closed the door behind them and pressed Yang against the door, kissing her lips with a smile on her face. Yang grinned, but she gently pulled back and pressed their foreheads together. “We need to unpack,” she said, raising a brow. Her hands somehow found themselves holding Blake’s waist, though, and she gently kissed Blake’s lips once more.

“Five minutes,” Blake breathed. Her golden eyes were half-lidded, and she was staring at Yang’s mouth. Yang shook her head, reaching up to press a finger to Blake’s soft lips. Blake raised a brow. “Really?”

“Really,” she said, stepping back. She dropped her bag on the floor and unzipped it. “Where can I put my stuff?” she asked as she kneeled on the ground and brushed her hair behind her ears. 

“In the dresser,” Blake said with a sigh. Blake got down beside her and started unpacking. “I’m sorry about my mom, I know she can be a lot.”

Yang’s throat thickened. “Don’t worry about it,” she said as casually as she could muster. “I love your mom. She’s great.” And Kali _was_ great. She was warm and caring, and she obviously loved Blake. Blake had told her countless stories about Kali and Ghira from her childhood, about spending days fishing with her mom and cooking with her dad. She was a good mom, and even if Kali wasn’t Blake’s mother, Yang would like her. Kali had the same sharp intellect as her daughter, and she was loving. 

“Yeah, she is,” Blake said, not picking up on Yang’s stiffness. “But you can call her whatever you want. Kali, Mrs. Belladonna, whatever. She just wants you to be comfortable.”

“I know.” She cleared her throat. “And I am!”

Blake looked up at her. “Are you?” she asked. 

“I am,” she repeated, softening her tone. “Your family is great.” Blake’s face was still tight with worry, but she nodded. Yang reached over and squeezed her hand. “Really. I love your parents, you know that.”

“You’d tell me if there was a problem?” she asked, biting her lip.

“I would, but there’s no problem, baby. This week is going to be awesome.” 

They finished packing in relative silence. Not an uncomfortable silence, but the type of silence that came from years of partnership and knowing the other person and accepting them as they were. Yang didn’t have to pretend, not around Blake. But for the first time in months, maybe even years, she felt herself drawing back from Blake. 

Yang just felt _off_. It could’ve been the time of year. She knew what tomorrow was, and, normally, it didn’t affect her, just made her a little more sensitive than usual. But there was something else sleeping beneath her skin, twisting and curling, and she didn’t know what it was. Something was wrong. Something was wrong with her, because nothing was wrong. Everything was lovely. She was on vacation with her girlfriend on a beautiful island, things literally couldn’t be better. 

“Come on, let’s go eat,” Blake said, straightening up.

Yang nodded, and she followed her out of the room and into the kitchen. Kali was at the stove, flipping sandwiches in a pan. Yang’s stomach grumbled, and she blushed as Blake laughed. “Can I help at all, Kali?” she asked, remembering to use her first name instead of her last. 

Kali laughed and shook her head. “You’re a sweetheart, Yang, but no, you girls just sit down. I put out some lemonade.” Kali gave her a wink. “I remember you liked it from the last time you two visited.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Thank you,” she said, sitting down next to Blake. She took a deep drink from her glass, relishing in the lemon and minty taste. She had never had lemonade with mint in it before she had first visited Menagerie, and it quickly became a favorite of hers. Kali made it by hand, and there was nothing quite so refreshing.

She felt Blake looking at her and smiled. “Delicious,” she said, licking the taste from her lips. 

Kali came over and put toasted sandwiches down in front of them. “Dig in, girls,” she said, sitting down to Blake’s left with her own plate. 

They practically wolfed down the sandwiches. Travel always made her hungry, and there was nothing like a home cooked meal. Well, a home cooked meal she didn’t have to cook. Blake was a lot of things, but she was not beyond proficient in the kitchen. Yang didn’t mind it, she liked cooking, and Blake would do the dishes, and it worked out. Still, it was nice.

“It’s delicious, Mom,” Blake said. 

“Really good,” Yang added, going in for another bite.

Kali beamed. “Good. I’m glad.” Kali leaned over and pressed a kiss to Blake’s forehead. Blake rolled her eyes, but Yang didn’t miss the pleased look in her eyes. Her own stomach twisted, and she took another drink of her lemonade. Her mouth curled at the sourness, but she kept drinking.

“So, I was thinking we could go to the market later,” Kali said. “Yang, you didn’t get to see a true market day the last time you were here, I thought you would like to see it.” Kali smiled at her, and Yang’s heart panged.

“That would be nice,” she agreed. “I promised Ruby I would bring her something back.” Ruby, she knew, had been thinking along the lines of a shell, but Yang wanted to get her something else, something more. “And my dad wanted some flower, I can’t remember the name of it.”

“Plumeria,” Blake said. “He wanted plumerias.”

Yang rolled her eyes and nodded. “Thank you,” she said, a teasing tone in her voice. “What would I do without you?” Blake squeezed her hand, ears flattening against her head in delight. 

“We’ll do that on the last day of your visit. We want them to last the journey, after all.” Kali smiled again, brighter this time. “So we can go to market today and look around for something for your sister.”

“Thank you,” Yang said. Her throat bobbed. 

Kali turned to Blake. “You picked a good one,” she said with a wink. “Very polite. I like her.”

Yang flushed as Blake complained, “Mom!”

“What? Yang knows I like her. She’s nice and polite, and she’s good for you.” Kali reached for Blake and rubbed her knee. “You can’t blame me for being happy for you.” Kali’s gold eyes met Yang’s and softened. “For both of you.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Blake said. 

Yang nodded, but she stayed quiet. Her insides twisted, and she took another drink.

* * *

Yang padded out to the kitchen, barely holding back a yawn. She had left Blake sleeping in bed, and she had spent five minutes untangling her limbs from Blake’s in an attempt to get out of bed. Blake was a light sleeper, and Yang knew she needed the rest. Travel took a lot of her, out of both of them, but Yang had been up for a half hour with no hope of falling back asleep. So to the kitchen she went.

She started a kettle for tea and took a seat at the kitchen table as she waited for the water to boil. Yang held her head up with her hand, blearily blinking at the rising sun. It was beautiful and a dark yolky yellow, even in the gray of the morning. She could see the beach from the house, and the water was glowing with early light.

“What are you doing up?” a soft voice asked.

Yang turned around in her chair to see Kali wrapped up in a robe, her hair mussed with sleep. She looked so much like Blake. Yang smiled weakly. “Couldn’t sleep,” she said. “Figured I would get an early start to the day and hope I would sleep better tonight.” She hesitated, but added, “What about you? What are you doing up?”

Kali smiled back, a soft and pitying slip of her lips. Yang hated pity, but there was so much warmth in Kali’s eyes that she couldn’t muster up the anger. “I was going to surprise you two with a picnic on the beach later,” Kali said. 

Yang’s heart panged. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“I wanted to,” Kali said. She took a seat across from Yang. “When Blake was younger and Ghira was away, I would always take her on picnics. I thought it was high time to revive that tradition.”

“That’s really nice,” she said. There was a lump in her throat, and she tried to swallow it down only to fail. Yang averted her gaze and stared back out the window. “You’re a good mom.” She could feel Kali’s smile brighten, even though she wasn’t looking at her. “Blake really loves you.”

A pause. “Are you alright, Yang?” Kali asked softly.

Yang blinked, her head jerking to look back at Kali. “I’m fine,” she said, brow furrowing. “Why?”

Kali placed her hands on the table, and her golden eyes were flickering with worry. “You’ve seemed a little off since you’ve gotten here, sweetheart. You don’t seem like yourself.” Kali scooted closer. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Yang’s throat thickened with heat. “You’re just a really good mom,” she said, her voice cracking. She wasn’t sure what made her chest crack open, if it had been Kali’s unending hospitality and openness or the day, but she felt her eyes heat with tears. “Blake is really lucky to have you.”

“What’s wrong?” Kali asked. Kali reached for her hand and squeezed. 

She took a deep breath. “Today’s my mom’s birthday,” she said. “My real mom. Not my birth mother.” Yang wiped at her face with her free hand. “My mom, she went on a mission and didn’t come back.” She wasn’t sure what Blake had told her parents about her own parental situation.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Kali breathed, squeezing her hand. 

“I didn’t think I would be this upset,” she said. She averted her gaze. “I mean, I’m usually fine, it’s just-” She took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I see you, and Blake, and I see how much you two love each other, and I miss that. I want that.” Her voice sounded small, even to her own ears. Yang ducked her head. “I know it’s silly, I just-” She broke off and sucked in a breath.

“It’s not silly,” Kali said gently. “It’s what you’re feeling. Of course you’re hurting right now. It makes sense.” Kali squeezed her hand. “It’s the kind of pain that doesn’t go away.”

“Yeah,” she sniffed. “And I didn’t tell Blake, because I thought I would be fine, and I didn’t want to make a big deal out of nothing, but I guess it’s not nothing. I miss my mom.” She wiped at her eyes. “I miss my mom, and I see you two, and I’m so happy. I’m so happy Blake has that, and you have ever, but I miss having that.”

She took a deep breath and continued. “My mom will never meet Blake,” she said. “My mom won’t be able to get to know her. I will never know if she would approve of us or not, and even though I know she would, I’ll never get that confirmation because she’s not here to tell me herself. She’s not here, and I don’t have my mom.” She snorted. “I don’t have my mom, and I accepted that a long, long time ago, but, Brothers, sometimes it just hits and-”

Yang closed her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I shouldn’t be going off on you.”

“Sweetheart,” Kali began, “you’re hurting. I’m here for you.” Kali’s gold eyes were tender. Not pitying, not quite, but sympathetic, empathetic. Comforting. “I’d rather you talk about it than keep it in.” She squeezed her hand again. 

“But-”

“No buts,” Kali chided. “You need a little love and care right now. I don’t mind providing that. You’re a joy to be around, Yang, and you make Blake so happy. I’m so happy that you trusted me with this, even if I am so sorry that you went through that.” She gave Yang a small smile. “But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that your mom loves you so much, Yang. She would just be happy that you’re happy.”

“I know,” she said. 

“But it still hurts,” Kali finished.

Yang nodded. “It does,” she said quietly.

Kali squeezed her hand again. “I know something about being a mom,” Kali said. “And I know that your mom was so lucky and so happy to have you in her life, to have you as her child. She may not be here, sweetheart, but I know she made you who you are today, and I know that she was a great woman because of that. A great mother.”

“She was,” she croaked. Yang wiped at her wet cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, sweetheart.” Kali rubbed her thumb over the back of Yang’s palm. “I know nothing will ever replace your mom, but there are people who love you and would want you to talk to them when you’re hurting.”

“Is this your way of saying I should talk to Blake?” she asked.

“Maybe.” Kali smiled. “You should reach out when you need help. And I think my daughter can help you more than I can.”

Yang shook her head. “You’ve helped. You’ve helped a lot.”

“Good. I’m glad.” Another squeeze. “Is there anything you would like to do today? To honor your mother?”

Yang paused before nodding. “I’d like to do a toast to her,” she said. “At breakfast, or whenever. If that’s alright.”

“Of course that’s alright, sweetheart.” Kali hesitated, pulling her hand back. “Do you want a hug?” she asked. “It’s okay if you don’t.”

“A hug would be nice,” she admitted. 

Kali wrapped her up in her arms, and Yang closed her eyes tight. Her embrace was warm and comforting and a balm to her aching soul. There was no replacement for a mother’s love, and there never would be a way to bandage the hole in her chest, but hugs never hurt.

They broke apart. “Why don’t you go wake Blake up, and I’ll make pancakes,” Kali said. “I think you two need to talk.”

Yang nodded, standing up from her chair. Just then, the kettle started to whistle. She moved for the stove, but Kali batted her hands away. “I got this. Go take care of yourself and wake my daughter up.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Really, Kali. Thank you.”

Kali smiled at her. “Of course, sweetheart.”

* * *

Yang and Blake walked side by side on the beach, holding hands as the waves crept up to kiss their ankles. “You could have told me,” Blake said.

“I didn’t want to worry you,” Yang said, brushing her free hand through her hair. “I thought I would be fine. And your mom really helped. She really is great.”

Blake sighed. “I’m glad,” she said. “But don’t be afraid to tell me things, Yang.”

Yang nodded. “I’ll send all the important dates to your Scroll when we get back,” she promised, squeezing Blake’s hand. “My mom’s birthday, the last day I saw her, Ruby’s birthday, my birthday-”

“I know when your birthday is,” Blake interrupted.

“You never know if you’ll forget,” she said with a wicked smile.

Blake tried to look offended, but she ended up just looking cute. “How are you feeling now?” Blake asked, swinging their hands between them.

Yang took a deep breath, looking out over the ocean. “Calmer,” she said. 

At peace.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed. Tell your loved ones you love them, and take care of yourself. <3


End file.
